The Rainbow Inn
by julesmonster
Summary: Four couples come to the secluded Rainbow Inn for a weekend getaway: Brian and Justin, House and Chase, Tony and Gibbs, and Booth and Zack. The first story in the Rainbow Inn universe. With pairings from NCIS, Bones, House, and QaF.


**The Rainbow Inn**

**By Julesmonster**

**A/N: **Okay, so I had this thought pop into my head: what if all my favorite characters ran into each other? How would they react? What would they say? From those questions, this story was born. However, as I was writing it, I realized that there was so much more that could and should be told here. The result is a rather ambitious plan for a series of stories set in the **Rainbow Inn Universe** that you will shortly enter. I have decided that _**Falling Down**__,_ one of my previously published stories, will be included in this universe. Also, I have almost completed _**Snowed Under**_, Zack Addy and Seeley Booth's story, and it will soon be published under this universe.

Because the series crosses four fandoms, there may be some confusion about where a story should be posted or about what story happens when, but I will try to keep things clear for you as the series progresses. I'll keep a list up on my author's page for your information. This is a "Series in Progress." I plan on ten stories total, and only three are complete—or almost complete—so far. I believe that the stories will be able to stand alone, but would recommend reading them in order since there will be references to past events as the series progresses. Also, the ratings on each story will vary, so be aware and be warned.

Now, after all that, I'll get on with the story…. I hope you enjoy and want to come be a part of the **Rainbow Inn Universe.** Jules

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

The Rainbow Inn was a small, out-of-the-way bed and breakfast in the Poconos. Settled in a secluded valley miles from the nearest town and run by an old couple of queers, Ryan and Jerry, it was the perfect place for gay couples to get away from it all. Especially gay couples who, for one reason or another, couldn't be open about their relationship at home. The inn was a huge old farm house about twenty minutes away from antique stores, thirty minutes from the outlet mall, and three hours from New York City. There were stables for the guests who wanted to go horseback riding, a formal garden for the romantics, a pool to laze about in the summer, hiking trails for the more adventurous, and a lake where couples could have dreamy rides in rowboats. It was quite idyllic.

One unseasonably warm Friday in October of 2005, the inn was booked to capacity with four couples. Two couples were from DC, one from New Jersey, and one couple was meeting in the middle from opposite directions: New York and Pittsburgh. Ryan was busy putting the finishing touches in the rooms—fresh-cut flowers from the garden in each room, restocking the mini-fridges, making sure the bowl of condoms and mini-packets of lube was full—while Jerry went over the books and awaited their first guests.

Right on schedule, a classic yellow Challenger roared up the long gravel drive and pulled to a stop in the parking area to the right of the front entry. Jerry watched as two men stepped out. The passenger was a handsome young man, about thirty Jerry guess, with short but stylish brown hair. He wore jeans and a linen shirt, but Jerry knew they were quality pieces by the way they hung perfectly from his lean and muscular form. The driver was older

—late forties, Jerry supposed, though his silver hair made him look more mature—and wore jeans and a simple polo shirt. His clothes were obviously less expensive, but he wore them well.

Jerry set aside the accounts and watched as the two moved around each other very carefully. There was an almost tangible connection between them, though they never once touched. They moved and worked together like dancers performing a pas de deux. The younger man seemed to be teasing the older man about something and the older man never once smiled or frowned. He didn't react at all until he slapped the back of the younger man's head. Then the slap turned into a caress and Jerry saw, for the first time, obvious affection pass between the two.

By the time the couple reached him in the foyer, they were back to not touching. "You must be Mr. DiNozzo and Mr. Gibbs?"

"Please, call me Tony," the younger man said with a charm that could melt an old fag's hard heart. "And this is Jethro."

"Tony, Jethro," Jerry said with a smile. "I'm Jerry. Ryan and I are pleased you've chosen to stay with us. Ryan's got your room all ready, so once we take care of business, I'll show you up. You'll be staying in the blue room."

Ten minutes later, Jerry was giving them a brief tour of the house and showing the men up to their room. The main floor of the inn had a large common living space with a state of the art entertainment center and two computer stations for the guests to use. There was also the library, the large dining room, and the kitchen—guests were encouraged to make themselves at home and help themselves if they got hungry for a midnight snack. In the cellar, there was a wine cellar with an extensive wine collection, a workout room, and a game room. The inn had only five bedrooms, despite its rather large size. That was because Jerry and Ryan had renovated the place when they bought it so that each suite could have a private bath. The four guest suites were on the second floor, and Ryan and Jerry lived on the third floor.

The blue room Jerry showed Tony and Jethro to was at the rear of the house, overlooking the pool and formal gardens behind the house. It had a queen sized bed, as all their suites did, which was made up with crisp white linens and a navy duvet with white piping. The walls were painted a softer blue, but matched well with the navy and white accents around the room.

"You boys make yourselves at home," Jerry said. "Ryan will be starting dinner in a bit. Just let us know before five if you'd like to eat here or if you'll be out for dinner. Lunches are on your own."

"We'll stay in for dinner tonight," Tony said and Jethro nodded once. He was a quiet one, Jerry decided.

"Alright, I'll let Ryan know," Jerry said with a smile and left them to unpack and settle in. Usually, with their guests, that meant a celebratory fuck to break in their new surroundings. Jerry was glad they had spent the extra money to have the rooms soundproofed.

He had just gotten back down stairs when another car pulled up out front. Jerry watched through the screen door as another car arrived. This time the car was rather non-descript and the driver was alone. Must be the one from New York, Jerry mused. That car had rental written all over it. A blond man, with a smile that could put the sun to shame, climbed from the car and looked around just taking in the view of the valley and the mountains towering above them. From where he stood, Jerry knew the blond could see the lake to the north and the stables to the south.

While he was still admiring the view a corvette rode up the driveway and the blond seemed to quiver with excitement. This must be his lover. Sure enough, moments later, a tall brunet was unfolding himself from the car and the blond practically threw himself at him. There was a distinct age difference between these two as well. The blond couldn't have been more than twenty-two or twenty-three. The brunette on the other hand, had to be at least ten years older. Not that he wasn't still beautiful, but he was definitely past his playful puppy days, as Ryan liked to call them.

Their greeting was quickly morphing from a PG rating to R and Jerry was growing a tad anxious, but another car pulled up just then and the blond and brunet broke apart reluctantly. Ryan came up beside him just then. "They are a hot pair, aren't they?"

"A little too hot for the front drive," Jerry chuckled. "You're right on time. I'll get the sex addicts and you can take the next couple."

Jerry was soon checking Justin Taylor and Brian Kinney in and showing them to their rooms—they had politely but firmly declined the tour—before being kicked out. Jerry chuckled as he heard a muffled squeal and a thud against the door almost as soon as it shut.

Ryan, meanwhile was getting acquainted with Seeley Booth and Zack Addy, their second couple from DC. They were both rather quiet, but Ryan thought that it was for two completely different reasons. Seeley seemed awkward, like he wasn't quite comfortable in his own skin. Zack, on the other hand, gave the impression of simply being an observer, like he was taking in every detail for later examination and analysis. When they finally reached the green suite, Seeley looked relieved and Ryan left them to get settled in. He wondered if they would have sex right away, like most of their guests, considering how uncomfortable Seeley seemed but almost as soon as he shut the door he heard a muffled laugh and someone being pushed up against the door.

Jerry and Ryan met back in the foyer for their last guests to arrive, the pair of doctors from New Jersey. They didn't have to wait long. The two men pulled up, parked and got out. One of the men used a cane and seemed to take great pleasure in making his partner carry the luggage. Of course, his partner found this all very amusing but still made the man carry a duffle bag and backpack while he got the two suitcases.

"Dr. House? Dr. Chase?" Ryan asked once they were inside.

"That's us," the one with a cane said. "But you can just call us House and Chase."

Ryan chuckled. "No first names?"

"Nope," House said with a smirk. "We're like Cher and Madonna: one name only."

Ryan let Jerry check the doctors in and show them up to their rooms while he went to the kitchen to start dinner. All our couples had opted to stay in for dinner tonight. That was not unusual. After a long drive, many couples didn't want to go back out again.

"This is a unique group we've got here," Jerry said as he came into the kitchen to help Ryan. "Did you notice that not a single couple had partners the same age? I'd say the closest in age would be younger two from DC. What do you think? Ten years?"

Ryan shrugged. "Maybe twelve. The couple living apart were about that too."

"The older coupe from DC, they were maybe eighteen years difference," Jerry said.

"I think you're off on that one," Ryan said. "I think it's more like fifteen."

"Really?" Jerry asked as he began chopping up the vegetables Ryan handed to him. Ryan was always better at guessing things about their guests than he was. "Why?"

"Because the younger man isn't as young as you think he is," Ryan said. "He's well preserved, and he's carried his puppy-days into his thirties somehow, but he's definitely closer to thirty-five than thirty."

"How can you tell?" Jerry asked.

"It's in his eyes," Ryan said.

"You didn't even talk to him," Jerry scoffed. "How could you see his eyes?"

Ryan shrugged and set the pan of red skinned potatoes into the oven to roast. "I was watching out the window upstairs. Believe me; that man has seen a lot in his life."

"What about the doctors," Jerry asked. "I was not expecting them at all. He has to be in his fifties and the kid's no more than thirty."

Ryan nodded, "You're right about that. Cute accent though."

"Cute ass too," Jerry chuckled.

"Dirty old man," Ryan teased as he swatted playfully at his partner's arm. "The thing about all these younger men is that they have seen more and experienced more in their short lives than most people their own ages. So they have found older men, men with experience, men who can understand them and take care of them. Except for the sex addicts. I get the distinct impression that Justin takes care of Brian as much as Brian takes care of Justin."

"I would say the same about the older couple from DC," Jerry argued. "Jethro seems to give Tony the security and stability he needs, but Tony gives Jethro the vivacity he needs in return."

"Perhaps you are right," Ryan said thoughtfully. He was currently removing the salmon steaks and marinade from the refrigerator. "If we look at it that way, Seeley is the heart and Zack is the head, balancing each other."

"So how do we make the doctors fit?" Jerry said.

"They don't," Ryan shrugged. "Not everyone can be fit into a mold." With that, he took the tray of salmon out to the patio to be grilled and left Jerry chopping vegetables thoughtfully.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

All the guests gathered in the common room by seven but it was a fairly quiet group as they looked each other over and tried to get a feel for who their fellow guests were. They held themselves stiffly and spoke only to their partners in hushed voices. The only two who didn't seem to care, and the last to arrive, were Justin and Brian. They talked loudly, kissed frequently and wondered if anyone knew what was being served for dinner.

Jerry, who had arrived just in time to hear Justin's question, answered. "Well, we'll start with a mixed greens salad, and then move on to grilled salmon, grilled chicken, red potatoes roasted with garlic and olive oil, grilled asparagus, and apple tarts with ice cream and warm caramel sauce for desert."

"Sounds great," Justin enthused. "I'm starving."

"You're always hungry," Brian teased, but he let Justin lead him to the dining room. Soon the others were all following their lead.

Once they were seated and eating, it was Tony who broke the silence. "So, I'm Tony, and this is Jethro. We're from DC. How about everyone else?"

There were a few shy murmurs from some of the guests, but Chase, the blond Australian doctor, said, "I'm Robert Chase. From Melbourne originally, but I've been living and working in Princeton New Jersey for a couple years now." He looked at House who looked right back at him. "House…."

House rolled his eyes and set his fork down. "Alright, I'll play nice with the other kids in the sandbox. I'm House. Chase works for me."

"You call your boyfriend by his last name?" Justin asked.

House shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"I called Jethro Gibbs for the first couple months we were together," Tony said. "I think it's just what you're used to."

"Exactly," House smirked. "You hear that Robbie, I can call you Chase in bed and it isn't kinky at all."

Chase blushed and shook his head in exasperation.

"Well, I'm Justin," the younger blond said. "And I'm an artist. I live in New York these days, but I'm from Pittsburgh." He paused to let Brian speak, but he wasn't being very cooperative, so Justin continued for him. "And this is Brian. He lives in Pittsburgh still."

"Could you not say that so fucking loudly," Brian said. "Christ, there's no need to advertise the fact that we're from the fucking Pitts. At least you can say you got out."

"I have been to Pittsburgh once," the most timid looking one of their group said quietly. He stopped when he realized that everyone was now looking at him and waiting for more. "Oh. I'm Zack. I was there last fall attending a special lecture at Carnegie Mellon on the utilization of micro-robotics in medical applications."

"Are you a doctor too?" Chase asked.

Zack nodded and then shook his head.

"He's got two PhD's but he isn't a medical doctor," Seeley said.

"Exactly," Zack sighed with relief. "One of my doctorates is in engineering, and I was attending as part of the research for my thesis."

"I attended that lecture," House said. "I thought the speaker didn't have enough understanding of the medical profession to make a solid case. He needs to work more closely with a team of doctors to make any real progress. The robots he was describing sounded really cool, but would be totally useless in practical applications."

"That's what I said when I wrote a review of the man's paper in the Journal of Science and Medicine," Zack said.

"Wait," Chase said with a smile. "I read that article. You're Zack Addy?"

"Yes."

"Impressive," House said. He looked at Zack's broody partner and asked, "What about you?"

"Me?" Seeley said. "Well, I'm not nearly so impressive. I work in the FBI's Major Crimes unit."

"Really?" Jethro spoke up for the first time. "You work with Fornell?"

"Not directly," Seeley said. "Actually, I work with the scientists at the Jeffersonian Institute's Forensic Anthropology department."

"The Medico-Legal Lab," Zack clarified. "That's where we met. My other doctorate is in forensic anthropology. Seeley works with my boss, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Sometimes I work with you," Seeley said.

"Only when Dr. Brennan is away," Zack pointed out. "Or that one time when she was working on that mummy that was sent over from Egypt. And I distinctly recall you not being very happy about working with me instead of her."

"That was before we were…" Seeley stopped himself and looked at the others self consciously. "How do you know Fornell?"

"We've crossed paths a few times," Tony said wryly. "We work for NCIS." Seeley seemed to understand what that was, but the rest of the room looked lost. Naval Criminal Investigative Services. We work on the Major Crime Response Team. That means we solve the murders, kidnappings, etc. for Naval and Marine personnel and their families as well as any major crimes that take place on Navy or Marine grounds."

Jethro gave House a smirk and said, "I'm his boss."

"Wow," Justin said. "Doctors, Scientists, and Federal Agents. Suddenly I feel like being an artist isn't much to brag about."

"You've got plenty to brag about Sunshine," Brian said with a smirk. "That cute ass for one. Your recent show at one of the country's most preeminent galleries for another."

"Thanks, Brian," Justin said ruefully.

"What about you, Brian?" Chase asked. "What do you do?"

"I own my own advertising agency," Brian said.

"He's wildly successful," Justin bragged. "You remember that commercial at the Super Bowl this year? The one with the guy skinny dipping at the beach and the dog stealing his shorts? That was Brian's. He won a bunch of awards for that one."

"I remember that commercial," Tony said. "The best part of the game. That was a really bad blowout."

"There was a whole series that went with that commercial too," House said. "But you had to get online and join the website to see the ending. And of course once they signed up, they were enticed into buying something from the site. Pretty ingenious."

Brian shrugged. "That's the point: getting people interested enough to buy shit. So what did you buy, Doc?"

"He got me a new pair of swim trunks," Chase said. "I think he was trying to pretend I was the guy from the commercial."

Everyone got a good chuckle from that. Jerry and Ryan had been quiet through the meal, but were pleased that their guests were all getting along so well. They got up and began clearing away the dishes. Ryan smiled at them and said, "We'll have coffee and dessert ready in just a minute."

"No dessert for me," Brian said.

"Brian doesn't eat carbs after seven," Justin explained helpfully, but there was a teasing glint in his eye. "You could bring his anyway, and I'll eat it."

"No you won't Sunshine," Brian growled. "Your ass is going to be the size of a Buick if you eat shit like that all the time."

"And you'd still love my ass even if it was the size of a Buick," Justin said with a smirk.

"Anyone else who'd doesn't want dessert?" Ryan asked with a faint chuckle. It appeared no one else was as weight conscious as Brian, so Ryan went to warm up the apple tarts.

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

After dinner, Jerry started a fire in the fire pit out on the back patio. It was rather large and the heat from the fire was enough to keep the chill away on a cool October evening. Brian and Justin were the first to find their way out there to enjoy an after dinner smoke, but soon the others seemed to all drift to the smell of burning wood and they were all soon seated on comfortable chairs around the roaring fire. Jerry smiled and left them to enjoy the evening with Ryan in their rooms.

Brian was pleased to see Tony and house had both brought cigars with them, so he pulled out one of his own and the three of them lit up and chatted idly about the merits of Cuban versus domestics. Once that topic died out, Justin got curious, which was always a bad thing as far as Brian was concerned, but he usually went along with his little twink's wishes anyway.

"So, how did everyone meet and get together?" Justin, who was sitting in Brian's lap on the chaise, asked. The rest of the group was silent and all you could hear was the sound of the fire crackling and the crickets chirping.

"I think if you want to ask something like that, you have to offer your own story first," Brian said.

"So how did the two of you meet?" Tony asked.

"Under a streetlight," Brian said with a falsely sweet and romantic tone. "It was love at first sight."

"Asshole," Justin said and elbowed his partner. "Though it was under a street light. I was out on the town for the first time…."

"Oh Christ, you're going to fuck it up and make it all sentimental, aren't you?" Brian groaned.

"You tell it then," Justin invited.

Brian rolled his eyes but sat up a little so he could address his audience. "It was a typical Wednesday night. I was at Babylon, the best gay club in Pittsburgh. I had just finished getting sucked off in the back room and had to go because my friends were all worried about going to bed before one on a school night. So I walk out of the club to meet them and I saw this little shit standing under a street light trying to look like he belonged there."

"I did belong there," Justin protested.

Brian ignored him. "He was gorgeous. Better than anyone that I had see all night, so I ditched my friends and offered to take him home with me."

"You went home with a complete stranger who you had met on a street corner?" Jethro asked with a frown. "You do realize that we investigate the disappearance and murder of kids like you everyday?"

"I do now," Justin muttered with some embarrassment.

"How old were you?" Zack asked.

"Seventeen," Justin shrugged.

"And out on a school night," Brian said. "My little rebel. Anyway, I took him back to my loft and asked him if he really wanted to stay."

Justin snorted. "Is that what you did?" Brian pinched him, but Justin continued anyway. "We get into his place and strips completely naked, grabs a bottle of water and pours it all over himself and then asks, 'Are you coming or going? Or coming and then going? Or coming and staying?'"

"It couldn't have been too bad since you took off your jacket and proceeded to throw yourself at me," Brian said.

"So that's it?" Tony asked. "You met and fucked and that worked?"

Justin laughed. "Not exactly. We didn't even fuck right then. We were interrupted by a phone call."

"My best dyke friend was having my baby," Brian said with a genuine smile. "So we went to the hospital and Justin named my son, Gus. Then we went back to my place and fucked."

"It must have been love if you let him name your kid," Seeley said.

Both Brian and Justin laughed this time. Justin said, "Brian was the Stud of Liberty Ave. He never fucked anyone twice and he didn't do love or relationships. He dropped me off at school the next morning intending never to see me again."

"But Justin tracked me down and stalked me," Brian said with a teasing air.

"And Brian turned me down again," Justin said.

"And Justin followed me again," Brian said.

"And then, I watched Brian on the prowl at Babylon," Justin said. "It was very informative. I realized he was all about the hunt and the more elusive the prey, the more likely he would be to go after it. So I waited until he was just about to get the two guys he'd chosen for that night's entertainment and then I stole them away." Brian huffed as if that thought still rankled. "Instead of trying to get them back, Brian got rid of them and danced with me. After that, I knew he was hooked no matter how he protested."

"So then you were together?" Zack asked.

"Not exactly," Justin said. "As far as I was concerned we were together, but Brian had other ideas. He liked to keep me around, but had to have his tricks on the side as well. And like I said, Brian Kinney didn't do relationships. It took me getting a bat to the head before he would admit that he cared about me, and it took us four years after that to really figure out how to make us work."

"But you're in New York and he's in Pittsburgh," Tony said. "How can that work?"

Justin shrugged. "It just does. We were going to get married in May, but things started taking off for my career and we decided that we didn't need to have some meaningless ceremony to keep us together. So now I live and work in New York and we try to see each other as often as we can. We both still have outside flings, but Brian knows he has my heart, and I know that he'll never love anyone the way he loves me. And that's enough for now."

"I don't think I could do that," Tony said. "Either the distance thing or the open arrangement."

"It works for us," Brian said. "It doesn't have to work for anyone else."

"So, who's next?" Justin asked eagerly.

Tony shrugged and said, "I guess I can go next." He looked at Jethro and smirked. "It's not like this one will tell the story. We met five years ago when I was a cop in Baltimore. I was assigned this case involving the murder of a Navy midshipman and was told to liaise with the NCIS team, but that they would have the lead. Turns out, the NCIS team was a team of one. Jethro shows up with just him and Ducky, the NCIS ME. So instead a simple job of liaising, I'm suddenly working the case. And Jethro keeps throwing out these little tips and asking subtle questions to get a feel for how I work and by the end of the case, he's offering me a job."

"You were a good cop," Jethro said quietly. "And you're a great agent."

Tony's face lit up and his smile was radiant. "Anyway, I moved down to DC and started learning the ropes. What I discovered was that the MCRT was supposed to have four people on the team, but for the first two years, it was just me and Jethro. Then we got Kate. A year after that we got McGee. And then I got sick."

"You caught the damn plague," Jethro growled as if it was still a contentious point.

"Not on purpose," Tony objected. "It was a bio-weapon attack, but it was targeted. I was the only one who got sick. Jethro shows up at the hospital and orders me to live, and somehow that actually works."

"Because you knew I'd kick your sorry ass in the next life if you had disobeyed," Jethro said grumpily.

"Almost dying clarified a few things for me, namely my feelings for Jethro," Tony went on, ignoring Jethro's remark. "Then Kate was killed by an assassin and we were all thrown off our game. After her funeral, I went by Jethro's place just to sit… to not be alone. Jethro was working on his boat and I just sat on his basement stairs for the longest time and neither of us spoke. And then he put down the sanding thing and walked over to me. He took my hand and pulled me to my feet and kissed me."

To Tony's surprise, Jethro said, "I had lost my first wife and daughter while I was away serving as a marine. I almost lost Tony to the plague and then Kate was killed. I suddenly knew that I couldn't just take a single day for granted."

Tony swallowed hard and cleared his throat. "So. Yeah. That was more than a year ago now. Our schedule is often pretty crazy and we can't exactly ask for time off to spend together, so this is the first time we've been able to get away together. But I think we're going to try and do this more regularly."

"I know what you mean about schedules," Seeley said. "Somehow it always seems that a bunch of bones turn up just when we're supposed to have a weekend off."

"So what's your story?" Tony asked, ready to have the attention move on to someone else.

Seeley and Zack looked at each other and they had a silent conversation to see who would actually tell the story. Unsurprisingly, it was Seeley who finally said, "I can't say it was love at first sight."

Zack interrupted. "What he means is that it was more like hate at first sight."

"I didn't hate you," Seeley denied.

"You didn't speak to me for almost six months," Zack said.

"Okay, that's true," Seeley admitted. "I wasn't real comfortable around the squints—the scientists—at first, but they've grown on me. But that wasn't the only reason I wasn't comfortable around Zack at first. Until I met Zack, I was never attracted to a man before. I was a Ranger sniper. I have a kid with my-ex. I didn't have any clue how to cope with what I was feeling, so I just brushed Zack off as an annoyance."

"And then last January I needed Seeley's advice about something," Zack said. "He'd given me a ride home after work and I asked him to come up for dinner so I could ask him."

Seeley chuckled. "I have no idea what I was thinking." He turned to Tony and Jethro. "You remember that huge storm we had in January? Well, I got snowed in at Zack's for two days during that storm. While locked away with the guy I was trying to avoid I didn't have much choice but to face up to what I was feeling. Zack brings out all my protective instincts and he's just so damn sexy."

"I overheard him talking to someone on the phone," Zack said matter-of-factly. "He said he wanted to kiss me, so I told him he should."

"Things have been pretty good since then," Seeley said. "I mean, we've moved in together, told our friends, and met each other's families. Parker, my son, adores Zack. All in all, things are pretty great."

"I understand about being reluctant to admit your feelings," Jethro said with quiet intensity. "It's easy to get caught up in an image that is more show than substance. I was a Marine sniper. I was married very happily to my first wife Shannon. I was unhappily married three times after that. Admitting I was in love with Tony was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"Geez, all you macho guys with your macho images," House scoffed. "Sex is sex. I'll take it where I can get it."

"So I take it you had no trouble coming to grips with your homosexuality?" Seeley asked a bit defensively.

"Not really," House said. "I don't believe in labels, but if I did, I wouldn't use homosexual or bisexual, though the latter is probably closer to the truth. I would consider myself a sexual opportunist."

"Is that what Chase is, then?" Tony asked. "A convenient lover?"

"Him?" House snorted. "He's the least convenient thing in my life. But I keep him around anyway."

Justin wasn't sure how to take this man's brash nature and he wasn't the only one. "How did you get together?"

Chase spoke before House could. "House pretty much started making advances from the moment I started working for him. Like some of you, I had never considered myself homosexual and was quite disturbed by the fact that I wasn't altogether unmoved by those advances."

"What he's not saying is that he almost became a priest, so religion was more of a factor than any macho image," House said.

"Well, I lasted a while, but eventually gave in," Chase said.

House snorted. "Again he's leaving out the most important parts. What my little wombat has neglected to mention is that by that time he was living with another doctor who works for me. He knew she was sleeping with my best friend, but let them carry on their affair and then finally gave in to my advances. Of course, he would have happily let this dual adultery go on indefinitely if he hadn't gotten a brain tumor."

"It was a real wake up call," Chase said. "When you think you're going to die, things become very clear."

"We came out to our friends and colleagues while he was in the hospital," House said. "Caused quite a ruckus, too. Cameron, Chase's girlfriend at the time was livid that he would cheat on her, even thought she'd been boffing Wilson for years. And Wilson was pissed that I hadn't told him about Chase, even though he'd withheld his own affair for far longer."

"I take it that you're okay now?" Jethro asked Chase with concern.

"All clear," Chase agreed. "I had my one year check up last month and still no sign of the tumor re-growing. Anyway, after everything settled, House and I moved in together and we've been pretty happy ever since. Or I've been happy and he's been less of an ass than he used to be."

"Oh the sweet nothings you whisper," House cooed. "You're such a flatterer."

"This is an improvement?" Justin asked.

"He's an acquired taste," Chase said. "After a while, his very odd sense of humor grows on you. The people who love him would do just about anything for him, and I'm not just talking about myself. Then again, the people who hate him… wouldn't mind seeing him dead. A few have actually tried."

House pulled down the collar of his jacket and showed them a scar. "Guy waltzed right into the hospital and shot me one time. Once in the chest and once in the neck."

"We think he was a former patient, but they've never caught him," Chase said with a shrug.

"Brian pisses people off like that," Justin said.

"Yeah, but I'm not the one who's almost been killed twice since we met," Brian pointed out.

"People try and kill us all the time," Tony said with a shrug. "I've been blown up, beaten up, shot, stabbed, and infected with the plague. Jethro has been blown up, beaten up, shot and stabbed. And that's just in the last five years. Maybe we should think about retiring, Jethro." He was only half kidding.

"In a few years," Jethro said. "After the boat is finished and out of the basement."

"You're really building a boat in your basement?" Seeley asked.

"It's a stress reliever," Jethro said easily.

"He's building it all by hand," Tony said. "He doesn't believe in power tools. And this isn't the first boat he's built. He's built at least one before this. I just wish I knew how he gets them out of the basement."

After that, the talk seemed to drift into other areas and people split off into new conversations. Jethro and Seeley discussed their sniper days. House talked with Zack about his review of the Robotics lecture and wondered if there wasn't a way the two of them could collaborate on a research project. He had a team of doctors at his disposal and worked for a teaching hospital that was always looking for new research opportunities. Tony and Brian compared favorite designers and Justin and Chase discussed their brain injuries and the difficulties recovering from neurosurgery.

When the fire started to die out, the couples began drifting back to their rooms for the night. Brian was the first to drag Justin away. They were followed by Seeley leading an embarrassed Zack into the house. House and Chase were next to go. Jethro stayed until the end, wanting to bank the fire and make sure it was safe for the night. Tony waited with him and once they were finished, Tony kissed his lover right there under the stars.

"Thank you," Tony said.

"For what?" Jethro asked.

Tony smiled. "For being so open and honest tonight. I know that's hard for you. Especially when it comes to our relationship."

"I'd tell the world if I could," Jethro corrected his lover. "I'm not ashamed of us. I just know that if our relationship came to light, there would be hell to pay."

"Because Director Shepherd's your old lover?" Tony asked.

"And because I'm your supervisor," Jethro said. "There are policies in place to protect employees from sexual harassment. I could be fired. We could be split up. But you know all of this. I just don't think it's worth risking everything so we can hold hands in public."

"Yeah, I know," Tony sighed. "And I agree with you, I guess. But it is nice to be here, where we don't have to worry about that, isn't it?"

"It's great, Tony," Jethro said and kissed his lover. "Come on. That bed upstairs is waiting for us."

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

They all split up on Saturday after a hearty breakfast. Jethro convinced Tony to go horseback riding despite the younger man's unease around the animals. Seeley took Zack out on the lake and they had a picnic in their rowboat. House and Chase were content playing pool and video games in the game room in the morning and explored the countryside in the afternoon. Justin and Brian disappeared early and came back just before dinner with more shopping bags than any of the others had ever seen at one time before.

They all spent a lazy day on Sunday, sometimes talking with the other couples in the common areas, sometimes alone in their rooms, sometimes walking in the garden. All except for Brian and Justin who never left their room except for food. And on Sunday night they were all back around the fire pit once more. They were all leaving the next day for their everyday lives.

"We're coming back in January," Justin told the others. "We already book our reservation with Jerry."

"We were considering coming back in a few months too," Seeley said. "Which weekend?"

"The second weekend," Brian said. "It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to know that there will be someone here I can tolerate when we come back."

"That's Brian's way of saying he'd love it if you could come then," Justin said with a smile while Brian scowled at him. "That goes for all of you. It was really great getting to know you guys."

"Well, I can't guarantee that we'll be able to get off rotation that weekend, but we can try," Tony said as he looked at Jethro.

"I'll work on it," Jethro agreed.

"Well count us in," Chase said.

House scowled and protested, "Hey, I didn't consent to that."

"It's either we come back for the weekend in January, or you give in about the dog," Chase said.

"We'll be here," House said hastily and the others all laughed.

Tony, Brian, and House were once again smoking cigars while they all enjoyed glasses of scotch and watched the fire spit and spark into the night sky.

"This is going to come out all wrong but I'm going to say it anyway," Seeley told the bunch. "I don't think I would have had such a problem admitting how I felt about Zack if I had known that hanging out with a bunch of gay guys would be like this."

There was a moment of silence before chuckles broke out around the circle. "We like you too," Jethro told him.

Talk turned to future plans and the evening seemed to speed along faster than any of them wanted. When the fire started to die, they once again began to break up, this time more reluctantly than before. This time Seeley stayed to bank the fire and sent Jethro up.

"I'm glad you decided we could come back again," Zack told his lover as he moved to sit upon his lap. "I really liked being here. And the others didn't seem too put off by me."

Seeley kissed Zack long and hard. "That's because they can see what I see: you, Zack Addy, are quite the catch. Sexy, smart and successful; it's hard to beat that combination."

"Even if I am a squint?" Zack asked teasingly.

"You're an adorable squint," Seeley corrected. "That makes all the difference. Now get your ass upstairs. I'm going to bank the fire and I want you prepared and waiting for me when I get upstairs."

"Yes, sir," Zack said breathlessly.

Seeley gave him one last hard kiss and then swatted his ass to get him on his way. The older man smiled and watched Zack walk away and chuckled when he heard him begin to run the second he was out of sight. Zack was such an obedient boy and he was all his. How lucky could one man be?

**XOXOXOXOXOX**

Monday morning dawned earlier than anyone wanted, but it was an inevitability that they could not fight. They had one last breakfast together, then three of the couples made their reservations for January before going upstairs to gather their bags.

Goodbyes were far more emotional than either Jerry or Ryan could remember witnessing. This group had bonded deeply in just a few short days and they were glad that they would be returning. Not just for the return business, but because they were genuinely curious how everything would turn out for each of them.

Phone numbers and addresses were exchanged and cars started. The Dodge Challenger was the first to go. Jethro was an impatient man and uncomfortable with showing too much emotion. House and Chase were next to go, but Chase leaned out the window to wave goodbye one last time before the car pulled out of sight. Seeley and Zack were next. Ryan wondered silently if Justin would be able to help Zack come out of his shell just a bit. Personally, he thought a friendship between those two would be good for the young PhD.

When Brian and Justin were left alone in the drive, Ryan and Jerry went inside to give the couple privacy for their farewell. Ryan couldn't help but take one last peak before closing the front door and saw that they were kissing just as passionately now as they had upon first seeing each other. That was real love, and he was sure that their time apart could do nothing to diminish it.

Brian reluctantly loosened his hold on Justin. "We can't stay here forever, Sunshine. We've got to get back to our lives. Kinnetik is waiting, as are your adoring art fans."

Justin's eyes were filled with tears but he put on a brave smile. His words, however, belied that smile. "I don't want to go back. I don't give a fuck about making it. I just want to be with you."

Brian wiped the tears from Justin's cheeks and kissed him softly. "We both know that's a lie. It won't be forever. Someday soon, you'll be able to sit back a little and let the masses come to you. When that happens, we can be together again. Hell, I'll even reconsider the whole wedding thing."

Justin laughed and pulled Brian down to kiss him one last time and then pushed him away. "Hurry up and go before I change my mind."

Brian smiled. "I'll see you next month. I'm coming to New York to meet with some clients and I expect you to come spend that time with me at the Ritz."

"You won't have to twist my arm," Justin said. They both got into their cars and Justin followed Brian down the drive to the main road. When they reached the end, Brian turned right and Justin turned left and they were soon both out of sight, leaving the peaceful valley and the Rainbow Inn behind. At least for a little while.

**The End for Now**


End file.
